The KfW Development Bank and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) set up the power projects in Swabi and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

PPAF has been working on hydropower and renewable energy (HRE) projects in K-P with financial support from the German government through the German Development Bank (KfW). The mini-grid solar systems, implemented in small villages of Swabi and Karak, can produce 196 kilowatts (kW) and 185kW respectively. Together, they help provide electricity from indigenous and clean sources to about 434 households. The project follows a similar project in Lakki Marwat where 24 solar mini-grid systems, with a total capacity of 119kW, were installed in off-grid villages.

PPAF and KfW’s HRE project is spread over two phases. The first phase of the project, which began in 2013 and is expected to be completed later this year, will see as many as 68 solar mini-grids installed, generating a combined 500 kW in remote and off-grid locations of Karak, Swabi and Lakki Marwat districts. Additional micro hydropower plants, with a total capacity of 803 kW, are expected to be implemented in Chitral, Upper Dir and Buner districts.

Phase two of the project is expected to be completed in three years. Once complete, the project would have been implemented in six districts of the province covering eight union councils in remote areas including in Swabi, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Buner, Upper Dir and Chitral.